{alltv} Backstage at Dancing With the Stars: Flo Goes, While Bristol Stays Alive

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

{alltv} Backstage at Dancing With the Stars: Flo Goes, While Bristol Stays Alive

When Florence Henderson's name was announced as the one to go home from Dancing With the Stars on Tuesday night, nobody was more surprised than Bristol Palin. She was convinced that her time on the dance floor was over. In fact, the Alaskan native said she was ready to go after Monday's show, when she and Mark Ballas donned a monkey outfit, messed up many of the steps to the jive, and landed at the bottom of the leader board for TV Theme Night.

"From the get-go," says Palin, "I just wanted to come out here and have a good time. And I'm gonna leave with a smile on my face if we go home tomorrow."

There was even some discussion that she might want to go home after last week's performance of the rumba in sparkly underpants and a white silk shirt. Some news organizations suggested that she regretted her decision to wear that get-up, in light of her position as an advocate for teen abstinence. But, says Palin, "I wasn't as uncomfortable as most people made it seem. I've had fun every week, regardless of what the costume was like. Standing out here [on the press line] last week in my underwear was kind of embarrassing. But that's just part of it."

Had she ever worn an outfit like that before? "No, and I'll never repeat it," she says.

Host Tom Bergeron, who learns a lot by watching the stars and the pros interact backstage, was bemused when he heard about Palin's costume regrets. "No one is forcing you to dance in your underwear," he says. "You can ultimately say no if you don't want to do it. What I've seen is that she's more excited about dressing a little sexier. I don't know what to say. I think she's conflicted."

And, according to judge Carrie Ann Inaba, part of that conflict is her shyness. "Her biggest challenge will be allowing her personality to come out," she says, "because she's very shy." Why is she still on the show, when Henderson, a TV icon, is not? "Bristol has had no training in terms of performing," says Inaba. "But that's also what makes her so compelling to watch, because this is truly the process of somebody learning how to perform. It's engaging."